Mathews, who usually buys her lottery tickets at the Shell Express Lane, 1736 S. West Avenue in Freeport, instead decided to get her tickets for Saturday night’s drawing in Rockford while running errands.

“I was going to come here and buy another ticket but I didn’t,” Mathews said. “I always buy them from here.”

It was at the Shell Express Lane location that a $50 million Powerball ticket was sold for Saturday night’s drawing. The winning numbers of 11-23-26-46-55 (27) came from a $2 quick pick ticket, which means the numbers were picked for the winner at random.

“I was on my way here Saturday to buy one and I didn’t end up coming,” said Dave Schmelzhe, a former Freeport resident who frequently passes through town. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

Now the community is buzzing with anticipation as they wait for the winner to come forward.

“I don’t have a clue who it is,” said Fred Couch, a Shell Express Lane employee. “I have heard that it’s a lady and it might be one of our regular customers since most people buy them when the jackpot is higher.”

According to Chanele Newton, public relations specialist for the Illinois Lottery, figures aren’t kept to record the largest winners in each part of the state. She did say, however, that this is only the second time that a winning Powerball ticket has been sold in Illinois.

“We don’t really know anything yet, a winner has yet to come forward,” Newton said. “It’s an awesome thing because it’s played in so many states. It’s like a dream (for the winners).”

In addition to Illinois, Powerball is offered to residents of 41 other states as well as Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Newton said the winner has one year from the drawing date to claim the prize. If the winner decides to receive a sum annually, it would add up to the entire $50 million. If the winner chooses a lump sum, they would receive around $31.4 million.

“We’re very excited,” said Lori Snyder, general manager of the Shell Express Lane. “We’re just waiting to find out who actually won it.”

Snyder said her location does quite a bit of lottery business and because of that, the winner could be almost anyone. The gas station’s owner, Johnson Oil Co., will receive 1 percent of the winnings, or $500,000.

“It has to be one of the biggest wins that Johnson Oil has had,” Snyder said.

To put the winning cut into perspective, the total budget for the city of Freeport was $17 million for fiscal year 2012-13. That means that the winner could fund city operations for about three years.

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“It’s pretty exciting,” said Freeport Mayor George Gaulrapp. “I’m happy. I hope that it was someone from Freeport, not someone passing through town. Hopefully, they use it to change the lives of people here in a positive way.”

Last week, a New Jersey man won the jackpot, which had risen to $338 million. Powerball winnings continue to rise each time the twice weekly drawing goes without a winner.

Jackpot amounts are dependent on how many tickets are sold between each drawing.